This is what I make for breakfast when I'm working out mornings, and it's my usual winter fare.

2 celery stalks, diced

2 medium yellow onions, diced

2 large carrots, diced

1 cup diced lean ham

1½ cups French lentils

Spices: bay leaves, thyme, cumin, epazote, ajwain

Chicken broth, to cover plus an inch

Combine everything in a slow cooker. Cook on low for 8-12 hours. This should make 8-10 servings, good enough for one to two weeks, depending on what regimen you're following.

One 12-oz serving has 300 calories, contains 30 grams of complex carbohydrates (the "good" kind), 33 grams of fiber (almost your whole daily nutritional need!), and 15 grams of protein. Lentils and celery both contribute a substantial amount of sodium to your diet, so if that's a concern, be aware of that.

Feel free to add other spices. Oregano and parsley would both be nice in this. Leave in the epazote under all circumstance-- lentil makes some people gassy, and epazote seriously cuts down on that effect.

One alternative, that I haven't been brave enough to try, is to make this your only meal for two days each week: One 12-oz serving in the morning when you awake, and then again 12-oz serving five hours later, and then nothing else for the next nineteen hours. This is called "interval fasting," and if done right, including sufficient hydration throughout the day and high-intensity interval exercise before your first meal the next day, can really kick fat loss into overdrive.

Blogging this because I don't want to lose it. I'm tired of having to look this recipe up time and again.

Sounds interesting. I doubt I'd be able to contain myself to 12oz servings (except for the ham and chicken broth).

I don't think I agree with you on the sodium from the celery and lentils. Dry lentils have 12mg sodium/cup, so they would only add 18mg/recipe, or less than 2mg/serving. Celery is about 51mg per medium stalk, or about 10mg/serving. I'd be more concerned about the ham (which seems, by my research, to be on the order of 1.7g/recipe, or 170mg/serving).

Speaking of the ham and the chicken broth, do you have any thoughts on vegetarian alternatives? Vegetable broth is usually a reasonable alternative to chicken, but the ham... I suppose I could try seitan/wheat gluten. Or maybe tofu.